In this day and age, one can be thankful
for much in the state of Goa on the farming front; fresh produce has taken a
turn for the better, and it’s reflecting on a local front. Goa now has great
produce within reasonable means being home grown within the state itself.
Palavi Agro Farm is a unit that serves
as a grower and supplier of exotic vegetables and fruits, from a farm in
Dhargal, Pernem. Over the last five years, Palavi has seen itself become
increasingly popular with consumers, largely because of what they choose to
focus on: the exotic. If you’re picturing dragon-fruit, don’t! By exotic, we
refer to a string of fruits and vegetables that was hitherto commonly unknown
in many homes across Goa, until the more recent past. And even to those where
it was seen, it was seen on very rare occasions, as and when it could be
spotted.
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Devangini and Amey Suryavanshi are the
people behind this project, and have consciously chosen to focus on this aspect
of what they do, with good reason. “We first set up shop in 2007. However, our
visibility has increased tremendously in the last five years. At the time of
our launch, we decided that we would focus primarily on what was not available
in the market already, rather than what was. The regular vegetables were
already easily available. So we opted to go the other end of the spectrum, and
do something that could work in sync with tourism. Medicinal herbs, avocado,
baby corn, red and yellow capsicum, iceberg lettuce, broccoli, yellow and green
zucchini, asparagus and the like are popular within that sector,” Devangini
shares.
The changing times are also a huge
factor as far as their recent success is concerned, Devangini believes, adding,
“Health awareness is constantly increasing, and people are beginning to look at
more holistic eating. As a result, there has been an increase in demand from
hotels and supermarkets. It’s reached a point where we have started delivering
our produce straight to people’s homes, in some areas.”
Over two decades ago, Dr Sangam Kurade
decided upon a venture that would take many turns, but would see Goa’s palate
eventually turn in a grateful direction for its existence. He started up Zuari
Foods & Farms Pvt Ltd in 1994, with five growing rooms that had a
production capacity of 100 kilos per day.
“I was initially prompted to return at
an entrepreneurial level, with an idea to return home after I completed my
education. I toyed with the ideas of horticulture and aquaculture, before
finalising on the idea to work with mushrooms, which I think is a niche
segment. Today, we are amongst the top three in India in the mushroom sector,
but this is hardly known,” Dr Kurade shares.
Dr Kurade’s main focus is on the white
button mushroom for the fresh market, comprising off-take from states like Goa,
Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala. However, he also works with the production of
portobello and brown button mushrooms. With the addition of the newer wing of
his enterprise, Tropical Mushroom, the project has grown to a total of 55
growing rooms, with a mushroom production capacity of 7,000-8,000 kilos per
day. Today, almost all of Goa’s mushroom consumption comes from Dr Kurade’s
projects.
The evolution of
food will continue on its upward spiral, and with it, there will always be the
need to develop things further. One only hopes that this means more intriguing
things to cook with at home.
